The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 303: Taking the Shortcut Isn't Easy]

Santa Monica, Ocean Park Avenue.

Hawke was in a conference room meeting with several executives. Meanwhile, down in the lobby, Paris and Britney were waiting for him. Just a short distance away, agent Larry Rudolph flipped through an introductory book on Twitter.

"Am I free from Jamie because of Hawke?" Britney had heard Paris refer to the so-called truth many times, but knowing that her mind was mostly focused on her music, she still felt somewhat dazed. "He helped me get out of this crisis."

Paris reiterated, "To be precise, I spotted the crisis and asked Hawke for help because of our friendship. So, he decided to step in."

Seated at Twitter, Britney felt a sense of alertness in this unfamiliar environment. She stood up, walked over to Paris, and hugged her tightly, exclaiming, "So it was you who saved me."

Paris emphasized, "I only asked Hawke for help; he's the one who really saved you."

Britney nodded in agreement. "I'll have to thank him properly."

Initially, she had wanted to come up with the simplest and most direct solution, but considering her empty bank account and the ongoing financial litigation with Jamie, she sighed and said, "I'm out of money, and who knows how long this fight with Jamie will drag on?"

The three of them reached a consensus and began discussing plans.

...

Minutes later, Hawke entered the lounge, shaking Paris's hand. Following her introduction, he exchanged a few pleasantries with Britney and Larry.

Britney looked at Hawke and said, "I heard everything from Paris about what happened this time. Thank you for your help."

Having just brokered a deal between Twitter and the Hilton Group, Hawke made sure to give Paris credit. "You should thank Paris; she's the one who reached out to me."

Britney nodded appreciatively.

Larry then interjected, "Mr. Osment, Britney is preparing for a new album, and we'll announce the latest updates regarding the album promotion and her upcoming world tour through our official Twitter account."

Hawke replied, "The Twitter platform welcomes every collaborator."

Britney added, "I plan to shoot the MV for one of my lead singles using Twitter as the backdrop. I'm going to push for that to happen."

In 2003, Britney was at the peak of her fame; Hawke certainly did not refuse and shook hands with both Larry and Britney, stating, "Twitter looks forward to collaborating with you."

Being not just a reality star but also a business entrepreneur, Paris knew that such partnerships couldn't rely solely on words. She chimed in, "Since you're interested in collaborating, let's talk business today."

Hawke glanced at Paris, acknowledging that she was growing more impressive.

Britney agreed readily.

...

Shortly after, Caroline arrived from upstairs and went with Larry to a nearby conference room. They had not only to negotiate with Britney's side but also to discuss matters with the record company. Given Britney's favorable media presence, they would likely come to terms on these minor conditions without much trouble.

Paris sought out Hawke for a quiet moment to discuss a fashion showcase she was planning in Los Angeles to promote her line of fingerless gloves and invited him to attend. Hawke readily agreed.

...

Before noon, Paris and Britney's group left Twitter, and Hawke escorted them downstairs. He received a call from FedEx notifying him that the shipment from Florida had arrived in Los Angeles. The shipment contained specimens of alligators and black bears. ȒÀ𝐍∅ʙËṦ

Hawke provided the address and instructed them to deliver the items directly to the Silver Lake neighborhood in the afternoon. The alligator was a trophy he had hunted with Erica, while the black bear was a gift promised to Brian.

Hawke called both Erica and Brian. Erica was free that afternoon, and Brian, whose duties as mayor were not too demanding, indicated he would also go to Silver Lake.

...

Century City, Fox Tower.

Gretchen stepped out of the chairman's office, doing her best to maintain a normal walking posture. Before entering the elevator, she took a quick detour into the restroom, shut the stall door, and pulled out a pack of wet wipes from her purse, scrubbing vigorously.

She wiped again and again but couldn't remove the oils and fluorescent residues from her skin. "Pervert!" Gretchen cursed under her breath.

Having taken a shortcut through Roger Ailes to land a position at Fox, she had to comply with his requests. If it had just been for one or two people, she wouldn't have minded. After all, this kind of thing was all too common in the industry.

But today, Roger had her servicing a real pervert. As he aged and became more rotund, he struggled with certain functions, which meant she had to cater to his twisted desires. In the past, she would usually take off her clothes and let him play with her however he wanted. Or kneel down and blow him or something like that. But as time went by, he had grown tired of regular encounters, and started looking for different men to play with, while he just sat back on the sidelines and watched.

The individual he had arranged this time was particularly depraved. Not only did he use overly greasy substances, but he also mixed in some glow powder. In the poorly lit stall, Gretchen noticed it glimmering.

After what felt like an eternity of scrubbing, nearly rubbing her skin raw, she finally felt slightly cleaner. With a heavy heart, she exited the restroom and made her way to the elevator, prepared to meet someone she had arranged to see.

...

Upon entering the lobby, Gretchen discovered a small press conference taking place, with many reporters clustered on the left interviewing Megan Taylor.

Gretchen instinctively halted, her eyes locking onto the scene. The young Megan exuded confidence, her every gesture radiating the aura of a rising star. She had just been appointed the new director of Channel 11.

Gretchen felt a pang of envy; rising to the director of Channel 11 meant vaulting into the upper echelons of Fox Broadcasting. With such a title, even if she left Fox for another network, many would be vying for her services.

Like many around her, Gretchen stood on the opposite side of the lobby, observing the young female director.

...

Finally, the interview concluded, and as Megan emerged from the reporters' midst, she headed toward the elevator, locking eyes with Gretchen. A moment of tension seemed to spark between these former rivals.

Megan continued walking past, deep in thought. Gretchen fought the urge to confront her and instead hurried across the lobby, entering Starbucks through a side door, where she found her friend Harley Wayne waiting for her.

...

"Did you want to talk about something?" Harley asked.

Gretchen replied, "Last time, you mentioned that one of the involved parties in the Venice Beach Club incident, Guerrero, had a girlfriend before he committed suicide?"

"Yes, I found out some time ago that she was studying at Caltech," Harley confirmed.

"Did she have any relevant information?" Since Fox had announced Megan's promotion to Director, Gretchen had been restless. She had joined Fox earlier than Megan, held a higher position just a year ago, and was even more famous.

Over the past year, she had taken every possible shortcut under Roger Ailes' guidance -- forward, and backward -- yet she remained stuck in place, while her arch-enemy claimed the director's chair.

After everything she had sacrificed, Gretchen wanted to climb higher too. But some positions couldn't be secured with just that -- after all, what she had, other women had as well.

Harley shook her head, "I haven't located her. I did find her at Caltech while digging, but by the time I went looking, she had already withdrawn."

'Things can't be right if she dropped out of Caltech,' Gretchen thought, eager to craft a major scoop. She understood immediately, "There must be something going on."@@novelbin@@

"I found her home address, but her parents didn't have much insight. They'd only received a couple of calls from her, and those were from virtual numbers. I've spent two months trying to track her down," Harley said, frustration wedging into her voice.

Gretchen urged, "You need to dig deeper. Whether she's hiding or has vanished, quitting Caltech is definitely suspicious."

Harley nodded slightly. "I'll give it another shot."

After enjoying a cup of coffee together, they parted ways.

...

In the Silver Lake Community, at Hawke and Erica's villa.

The luxurious residence with an exhibition room had its front door open as a FedEx truck drove into the yard. Hawke directed the vehicle over to the side entrance of the mansion.

Erica had already opened the door leading to the specimen room, as Brian stepped out, saying, "Let's put the black bear specimen here for now, and I'll find a proper spot later."

Hawke turned his head and teased, "Then I'll charge a storage fee of $5,000 a month."

Several workers descended from the truck, carefully unloading the horizontally-packaged boxes under Erica's direction, wheeling them into the exhibition room.

Then, they did the same with a vertically-packed box. One of the workers even carried an additional box.

Brian paid the workers, and once they were all gone, he shut the door.

...

Hawke took a pry bar and said, "Alright, let's put them in the display case."

Erica accepted one of the bars, heading over to the horizontal box. "This should be our alligator."

Hawke glanced at its length and said, "Go ahead and open it."

Erica pried the top open, revealing the alligator wrapped inside.

The creature exceeded five meters in length, without any visible wounds, appearing lifelike.

Brian stood in front of the box, grinning, "You two are incredible. You took down such a massive alligator."

"It's quite fragile compared to modern firearms," Hawke replied, already opening the prepared glass display case. "Let's place it inside."

The alligator had long been gutted and filled with stuffing, its weight far lighter than it appeared.

The three of them lifted and placed it into the display case. Erica tossed the pry bar to Brian, saying, "This one's your specimen; you open it."

Brian was practically buzzing with excitement. He glanced at the pry bar, forcefully prying open the vertical box top to reveal a black bear.

Upon closer inspection, however, he spotted something odd and pointed at the back of the bear's neck. "There are signs of repairs here!"

Hawke leaned in to take a look. "That's a wound from my shot."

He explained, "This bear had eaten too much of cocain and was already high; it almost attacked one of our guides. The situation was urgent, so I had to kill it with one shot."

Inside the last box was a trophy of the leader of the green iguana.

*****

/Sayonara816.